Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Why the majority of your CDs sound horrible.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Why the majority of your CDs sound horrible. - Page 7

post #91 of 217
1/12/07 at 10:22pm
Recording hot in the digital world is great if you don't exceed 0 db. It's not like the analog world where you can go above 0 db at times and not suffer from the distortion. I belive the digital meters are peak meters where analog meters are average. Also, the reason to keep the digital peaks near 0 when recording is that for every 6 db under zero you loose 1 bit which further degrades the sound.
Reply
post #92 of 217
1/12/07 at 11:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sordel View Post
Looking at the waveforms in Audacity is a great new game that should keep me busy for a while. I started off with "Abidan" from Masada Guitars where, as you might expect (classical guitar, simply recorded) the waveform looks great. Then, looking for a contrast, I switched to "Lithium" by Evanescence, which I fully expected to be compressed up the wazoo. Sure enough, it is: at least 75% of the track is clipped.

But, um, I love "Lithium" ... so what's this really telling me? Do I like it despite the shoddy production or because of it?
Yes, it is a great game. In fact i would personally like to see a thread dedicated to posting audacity (or similar program) graphs so i can decide what cd's to buy ... where would such a thread belong?
Reply
post #93 of 217
1/12/07 at 11:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by adanac061 View Post
Yes, it is a great game. In fact i would personally like to see a thread dedicated to posting audacity (or similar program) graphs so i can decide what cd's to buy ... where would such a thread belong?
How about you decide on what CDs to buy based on how much you like the music on them? Not based on how pretty it's waveform is..
Reply
post #94 of 217
1/12/07 at 11:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Esidarap View Post
How about you decide on what CDs to buy based on how much you like the music on them? Not based on how pretty it's waveform is..
oooh harsh. .. I actually have a few cd's that whilst i don't really like the music itself ,
the cd was recorded/mastered so well that i really like to listen to them.
Reply
post #95 of 217
1/12/07 at 11:54pm
^^ Two CDs: Pink Floyd-The Wall and Jimi Hendrix-Are You Experienced?

Better recorded-The Wall, by a long mile. The engineer for Hendrix made his album hot as hell, but at least it doesn't show any clipping.

More enjoyable-Are You Experienced?, by a long mile. Don't get me wrong, I like The Wall (and don't like it nearly as much as, say, DSOTM or Animals), but it's a bit depressing and has a lot of filler moments. AYE? is just 45 minutes of the first, and arguably the best, hard guitar rock ever made.
Reply
post #96 of 217
1/13/07 at 12:13am
I decide on what CDs to buy based on how much i like the music and the mastering on them.No i don't expect them all to be up to DCC gold quality but at least they must not be smashed to hell(b/c i can't listen to the damn thing .I don't pay for smth i can only listen on a boombox )
Reply
post #97 of 217
1/13/07 at 1:10am
Every new cd should have Audacity waveform printed on the back of the case
Reply
post #98 of 217
1/13/07 at 1:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hardstyler View Post
Every new cd should have Audacity waveform printed on the back of the case
YES. ... You’re a Genius!
Reply
post #99 of 217
1/13/07 at 1:42am
Even better, there should be a forum or webpage where people can go and post audacity waveforms of commercial CDs and iTunes/beatport mp3s.
Reply
post #100 of 217
1/13/07 at 1:44am
We should start a Wiki for this.
Reply
post #101 of 217
1/13/07 at 1:53am
Why Audacity? It doesn't hold a candle even to older versions of Cool Edit.
Reply
post #102 of 217
1/13/07 at 1:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek View Post
Why Audacity? It doesn't hold a candle even to older versions of Cool Edit.
Because it is free and everyone can download it and get a snapshot of songs to post here at Head-fi. The wiki idea is great. Let's do it.

BTW, soundforge beats CoolEdit to a pulp
Reply
post #103 of 217
1/13/07 at 1:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DJGeorgeT View Post
Because it is free and everyone can download it and get a snapshot of songs to post here at Head-fi. The wiki idea is great. Let's do it.
I used it for just a few minutes and promptly deleted it. It was like going from HD650s back to Apple iBuds.

Quote:
BTW, soundforge beats CoolEdit to a pulp
Perhaps, but I would never need many of the features Soundforge provides. I use CoolEdit Pro 2.0 for all of my basic waveform editing and viewing. It does what I need and gets out of the way.

Anyway, the Waveform Wiki idea sounds awesome, I'd be glad to help in such a project.
Reply
post #104 of 217
1/13/07 at 2:02am
We're gonna need a name for this.

WaveWiki?
WikiWave?

Let's throw some names together, see what sounds best.
Reply
post #105 of 217
1/13/07 at 2:06am
I like Waveform Wiki, personally.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Why the majority of your CDs sound horrible.